Calls For Training Legislation After Young Rugby Player’s Death

An inquest has recently recorded a verdict of accidental death in the case of rugby player Chris Tickle. Chris was just 23 when he died following an accident in a rugby match in 2009. He was called up as a lastminute replacement for a prop forward who had been injured and sustained a serious spinal injury when a scrum collapsed during the first half of a match.

Young Rugby Player’s Death Leaves Family Devastated

Chris spent three weeks in intensive care before he passed away leaving his parents friends and teammates devastated. While a contact sport rugby is enjoyed safely by millions of people so to lose a son because of the game he loved must have caused unimaginable heartache for his family.

Chris’s Aunt Brigid Knight acted as a legal representative for the family following Chris’s passing. She recently made some excellent points regarding the safety of scrums and rugby in general calling for ‘legislation along the lines of health and safety at work records of training at a minimum’.

The training mentioned is in respect to playing in the highly specialised and in the case of Chris Tickle highly dangerous prop forward position. The Stockport coroner concurred with Brigid Knight and suggested that only players who have undergone sufficient training and gained enough experience in a practice match scenario should allowed to play as a prop forward.

The vast majority of rugby and sports clubs enable people to play their chosen sport have fun and keep fit in a safe and controlled manner. Yet unless best practise is followed in contact sports serious injury can occur. If you or a member of your family has been injured while playing please contact us today to discuss your claim free of charge with a specialist Solicitor.